The Shabbat Project: Making History

As the sun dips below the horizon on October 24, an estimated one million people worldwide will be participating in this extraordinary initiative.

Paula Abdul and The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik have joined Nobel Prize laureates, international sports stars, a US vice-presidential candidate and Jews of every nationality, ethnicity and level of observance who, in less than a week, will be uniting in 340 cities across the globe for what might just be the most extraordinary Shabbat in Jewish history…

In Melbourne, a sociology professor from Monash University has undertaken an in-depth study of the city’s Jewish community to focus efforts, while scores of committees and subcommittees are ensuring the initiative reaches every last Jew in the state of Victoria. An estimated 50% of the 60,000-strong community are expected to take part.

In Buenos Aires, where every single Jewish community organization, school and synagogue in the city has signed up, more than ten thousand people are expected at an enormous Havdallah Unity Concert which has been put together with the help of the Argentinian government, and which will be broadcast on national television.

In Miami, a crack team have perfected a revolutionary recipe for a Thursday night Challah Bake expected to draw thousands, while a local high-school pupil is bringing hundreds of fellow high-school students from across South Florida to Miami Beach for one gargantuan shabbaton, and a local Chabad rabbi has set up a big tent on the premises of his shul, and is offering lavish Shabbat meals for anyone in his zip code pledging to keep that Shabbat.

In Canada – where even Prime Minister Stephen Harper is endorsing the initiative – posters are appearing in subway stations in Toronto, while an enormous neon billboard has recently gone up in New York’s Times Square.

Poster ads will also be emblazoned on hundreds of Egged busses and on busy highways and byways across Israel, where the local team have just launched the #Keeping it Together app – packed with all anyone needs to know about keeping Shabbat, and programmed to put users’ phones to sleep over Shabbat. Meanwhile, the Rami Levy supermarket chain will be offering a “challah for a shekel, wine for five shekels” special this week.

So far, over 60,000 words of support material have been adapted into Ashkenaz, Sepharad and Ari versions, and translated into English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, German French, Italian and Portuguese. A recent print run of an “Unofficial guide” to keeping Shabbat and a Shabbat “Toolkit” (which you might have seen at your local synagogue over Yom Kippur) may have been one of the biggest in Jewish history.

The project’s website has received 14 million hits since the beginning of the year, and this past Friday, as many as 8,000 people tried signing up at one time, crashing the server. As the sun dips below the horizon on October 24, an estimated one million people worldwide will be participating in the initiative.

Jews of all walks of life – religious and secular, young and old, from all corners of the world – are uniting to experience one full Shabbat together.

In unprecedented fashion, Nobel Prize winners, writers, politicians, sportsmen, musicians and celebrities have joined revered rabbis and rosh yeshivas in lending their support and voicing their commitment to the cause. Hong Kong and Tokyo are “keeping it together”, as are Lima and Manila, Addis Ababa and Abuja, and Vilna and Venice. They are joined by around 50 cities in Israel, over 100 cities in the US, and more than 340 cities in 35 countries around the world.

Welcome to the Shabbat Project.

First South Africa, now it’s the rest of the world

The concept is simple: Jews of all walks of life, from across the spectrum – religious, secular and traditional; young and old, from all corners of the world – uniting to experience one full Shabbat together, in full accordance with Jewish law.

The Shabbat Project was introduced in South Africa in 2013 to quite astonishing effect. On the Shabbat over which it ran, close to 70 percent of the country’s 75,000 Jews kept Shabbat in full, most for the first time in their lives. Perhaps more significantly, the initiative drew people together in ways never seen before.

In the aftermath, many wrote in from around the world, wanting to bring the initiative to their own cities and communities. And so, the international Shabbat Project was born.

It has already been described as "an experiment that has no precedent in modern Jewish history,” and “the most ambitious Jewish unity initiative ever undertaken,” with final preparations now feverishly underway coordinated by around 1500 partners in 340 cities.

“The Shabbat Project is an opportunity for the entire Jewish world to keep one complete Shabbat together – from Friday evening just before sunset on October 24, until Saturday night after the stars have come out on October 25,” says South African Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, who originated the Shabbat Project last year in South Africa, and whose ideas and vision have enabled the project to go global in 2014. “The beauty of this is that it is so practical and manageable. It’s only one Shabbat. It’s something everyone can do.”

The Shabbat Project is not merely about performing a symbolic gesture to acknowledge Shabbat, but rather about keeping it in full. For Goldstein, authenticity is everything.

“This approach is predicated on the idea that the real energy of Shabbat – its transformative power – is wholly dependent on immersing oneself in the full Shabbat experience.”

Keeping it together

The tagline of the Shabbat Project, “Keeping it together,” neatly encapsulates the twin ideals of the initiative – unity and wellbeing.

“Keeping it together means keeping our lives together,” Goldstein explains. “Of course, there is the good food, sound sleep and deep relaxation to look forward to on Shabbat, but there’s more. Shabbat restores us, not just in a physical sense, but emotionally and spiritually as well, so that we emerge on Saturday night as new human beings ready to face the week with all of its challenges and opportunities.”

“Keeping it Together” is an allusion to the unique restorative powers – the opportunity for deep physical, emotional and spiritual rejuvenation – which the full Shabbat experience affords. This is especially relevant in a modern world in which society is bombarded with technology and gadgetry; where what is truly important often takes a backseat.

“Shabbat can hold us together in a society where everything seems to be pulling us apart.”

“A unique tranquility and intimacy permeates our homes on Shabbat,” says Goldstein. “No one has to answer the phone or rush off. No one is distracted by the screens of information and entertainment that saturate our world. We are left with a remarkable, uninterrupted haven of love and connection, which allows us to appreciate and focus on what we have in our lives.”

He believes that Shabbat has a special power and resonance for our time.

“Shabbat enables us to momentarily set aside the distractions, demands and pressures of daily life, offering us the time and space to renew our inner selves, and to revisit and reinvigorate our most important relationships,” says Goldstein. “Shabbat can hold us together in a society where everything seems to be pulling us apart.”

“It’s going to be awesome”

Mayim Bialik, three-times Emmy-nominated actress of smash-hit sitcom, The Big Bang Theory and a trained neuroscientist, has written extensively on the importance of face-to-face time with one’s family while not working, and specifically about the lessons of Shabbat in setting aside a day of the week free of the trappings of technology.

Over the past few weeks, Bialik has emerged as a proud, vocal ambassador for the Shabbat Project. In a recent post, she called on her many fans around the world to “try one Shabbat,” assuring them: “it’s going to be awesome in the most peaceful, quiet, restorative, and unifying way possible.”

The multi-award winning US entertainer and American Idol and X Factor judge, Paula Abdul has also joined other international singers (including fellow Grammy honoree, indy folk-rocker Lisa Loeb, and US Billboard Hot 100 hitmaker and Brit Award nominee, Alex Clare) in lending her voice to the cause.

“Shabbat is very important to me because in a way it’s my Club Med in life,” Abdul reflects in a recent video interview. “I know when Shabbat comes, I can be me – no paparazzi, no invasion of my privacy. I can always look forward to the end of the week and say, ‘Thank God I have Shabbat’.

“We’re living in a world where social media and our jobs pull us away from the most basic human comfort zones – being with family and enjoying human company and connecting with God without the interruptions from the phone or the TV.”

“Shabbat gives you the opportunity to take a deep breath of fresh air and makes you realize there is another dimension to life other than the everyday tasks and responsibilities,” says the WBA and IBF international welterweight champion, who has thrown his name into the ring along with a few other well-known sportsmen, including basketballer Tamir Goodman (the “Jewish Jordan”) and former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman and Super Bowl winner Alan Veingrad.

Shabbat is an opportunity to focus on another set of responsibilities,” he says. “It’s a time to be with friends and family, a time to focus on your relationships with them and with God. It’s a time to disconnect from the ever-pressing burdens of weekday life. On Shabbat, you can’t pick up your phone or switch on your TV – but this, in fact, is what makes the experience so holy and special.”

Senator Joe Lieberman has also come out in support of the initiative.

“I was amazed when I heard what happened (last year) in South Africa – this whole idea of getting as many Jews as possible of all levels of observance and non-observance to commit to putting everything down for 25 hours and observing this Shabbat together…” says the author of The Gift of Rest (2011), an account of Lieberman’s spiritual journey through the American corridors of power, and a moving testament to how Shabbat in particular enriched not just his personal life, but his professional career as well.

“Watching the videos I was quite taken with what was clearly the growing and deepening sense of community that swept over people as a result of this experience. I am very excited that Goldstein and his team are taking it on the road – I think the Jewish world needs the Shabbat Project at this moment in our history.”

Lieberman is of course alluding to the simple meaning of “Keeping It Together” – the unifying experience of literally keeping Shabbat together – as one Jewish people, and as individuals, families and communities all over the world, all at the same time.

Thus far, it’s this unity factor more than anything else that people seem to be responding to. Indeed, one of the unique aspects of the Shabbat Project is that all factional identities – all denominations, affiliations, ideologies, and political differences – are put to the side.

The message couldn’t be timelier.

“At this moment in time,” says Goldstein, “in the aftermath of the Gaza War – and the pressures Jews everywhere have felt in its wake – the international Shabbat Project provides us with a unique, historic opportunity to give birth to a new sense of Jewish unity and Jewish identity. As Jews around the world, we will be doing this together. The power of that shared experience is unimaginable.”

The international Shabbos Project is taking place around the world over the Shabbat of Parshat Noach, on 24/25 October 2014. For more info, or to sign up, visit www.theshabbosproject.org

On Shabbos Parshas Noach, October 24-25 2014, tens of thousands of Jews from all walks of life in 340 cities in 37 countries

will be spending Shabbos together in unity.

R.S.V.P and details call 718-285-9132

or email Info@Chazaq.org

(17)
Anonymous,
October 21, 2014 8:19 PM

This is too extreme for people who never have done Shabbat

I grew up very Reform. We are in a temporary home for this weekend. So, there is no way we are going to spend money buying all this stuff. And, we have small electric space heaters, so we are supposed to pay mega bucks for electricity or freeze? No thermostat. We do light candles, do kiddush over grape juice and have challah every Friday evening, but we eat our last meal at lunch since we cannot go to sleep on a full stomach, so no Shabbat meal. We live much too far to walk to synagogue, so no services. So, we do what we can do. I looked at the tool kit. Who ever heard of liquid toothpaste? Is this dipping toothbrush into Listerene? So, why no toothpaste. What is wrong with that? And why no makeup. Yes, I am female snd cannot understand why I am not suppose to wear make up. Aren't we supposed to look our best? And I need to wash my face in ice cold water? It seems much too extreme for me. At this rate, we might as well just stay in pyjamas and sleep all day. We do what we do. Even Yom Kippur, we were in a hotel, and I had no idea not to use the key card which I did. Our dog was in the room. I had to wash his bowl after he ate. So, I am not Jewish enough if I don't keep things to the extreme? I dont drive. I have special Shabbat lights we keep on and just turn around when not want light. I will use regular toothpaste, and toilet paper. I was told that tissues clog up toilets and last thing I want is to pay for a plumber. We eat tuna sandwiches. How does one get hot water for coffee? Or to wash my face? We are in modern times with conveniences. I believe this it much too extreme. I will keep what I do. We are in modern times with conveniences. I believe this it much too extreme. I will keep what I do. I can not use my phone or iPad. I don't do laundry. We use paper plates & plasticware. I will eat cold tuna. But, I will turn on the coffee pot. Use hot water on my face, and wash the dog's bowl in hot water.

Rebecca,
October 22, 2014 9:11 AM

partner with a different family

maybe if you get in touch with a family who lives near a synagogue, you can stay with them and experience Shabbat together. I know many people who are doing that.

Anonymous,
October 23, 2014 2:37 AM

Wish I knew another family , but hard with husband & dog

Lovely idea if I were single, but with my husbwnd and a dog (small one but one that doesnt get slong with other animals or strangers), it is not even a possibility. Besides being visitors, we couldnt invite us all to stay. Lovely thought, though, and perhaps someone else would be able to use your suggestions. Thsnks for responding.

sharona,
October 23, 2014 11:00 AM

Even if you just light Shabbat candles before sun-down and have a meal, it;s something

malka,
October 22, 2014 9:30 AM

Just do the best you can. Any effort is good effort. And for any questions and to learn more, it would be good to find a rabbi or rebetzen that can help you understand different things about Shabbat. Have a great Shabbos

Anonymous,
October 23, 2014 2:34 AM

Thanks for the encouragement: but we do not have a rabbi here

Our house is not in a Jewish area. The only Orhtodox shul has no rabbi or rebbetzin. This is a house we stay in for only two to three months a year, so we cannot afford to buy extra stuff for it.

Later in the year, when we are at our regular house in New Mexico, there is a Chabad House in our city with a nice rabbi who I am sure would answer my questions, and help set up for future shabbats. Half the stuff they mention in the tool kit are foreign to me and my husband. We will be returning after a medical procedure this Thursday in another city, so won't be back at our house until this Friday afternoon, so there is no real time to do anything other than what I usually prepare for Shabbat. I do have the Kosher lamps from Arscroll that I use every Shabbat. I do plan on taking a big step in not using my iPad, cellphone, or computer and keeping the TV off. I wish we had central heat with a thermostat, but we will have that for future Shabbats at our primary home in New Mexico.So, thanks for the encouragement and I will be better prepared for another Shabbat in a couple of months. Chanukah probably:)

Anonymous,
October 23, 2014 11:51 PM

your not alone

Don't worry! Just do your best, its supposed to bring joy in your life not anxiety:) but what part of the world do you live in? I'm sure there are many people who would love to have you even for a meal (husband dog and all)- one of the whole point is #keepingittogether! You don't have to do it alone, you are a part of a large and awesome family, Don't forget!

Anonymous,
October 24, 2014 1:47 AM

Solutions for your challenges

Sounds like you keep so much already! Just want you to be aware that there are some solutions for the aspects of Shabbat that you find challenging. Hot water urns provide hot water in a permissible way, croc pots and hot plates can be used to keep food hot without spoilage from Friday, and there are permissible lines of cosmetics that can be used to help you look your best. You can even get precut toilet paper! Many ultra orthodox people use these conveniences to have a very enjoyable Shabbat experience. I don't know where you live, but in cities with large orthodox populations, these items are readily available! And you can get everything online as well! No solutions for the iPad... But disconnecting is really relaxing if you try it!

Netanya,
October 24, 2014 3:08 AM

Do what you can.

We would have loved to host your family, we are in Florida. Do what you can, something small that you don't normally do for Shabbes :-) don't sweat it, that is not "rest", may HaShem bless you, Shabbat Shalom !

grandestgradma,
October 24, 2014 4:27 AM

Shabbos

You have so many question, Maybe you can get in touch with someone that can help you sort out how to?? We religious women look beautiful on shabbos, eat hot meals and I'm sure if your really want some one will and can help you this shabbos come on try it you may love it. Don't isolate yourself Good Luck

(16)
Yvette,
October 21, 2014 4:47 PM

Great!!!!

Now let us do it for every Sabbath!

(15)
Randi Gleichenhaus Pakula,
October 21, 2014 1:39 PM

KEEPING IT TOGETHER! *Let's Unite Everyone

(14)
Anonymous,
October 20, 2014 10:41 PM

Excellent!

This is excellent! Thank you so so so much for doing this amazing Kiddush Hashem!

(13)
Susan,
October 20, 2014 4:56 PM

KEEPING IT TOGETHER

JUST ONE SHABBOS AND WE'LL ALL BE FREE ! ! !JUST ONE SHABBOS COME AND JOIN WITH ME ! ! !

KEEPING ONE SHABBAT ALL TOGETHER WILL BRING THE GEULA SHLEIMA ! ! !

REMEMBER - THIS WEEK!

(12)
Ronny Bresgi,
October 20, 2014 3:03 PM

as a weekend sportsman i observed the last call , and i will do so again this , shabbos, well done to our chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein.

(11)
Steven,
October 20, 2014 2:04 PM

This is amazing

This project has such unbelievable potential to reawaken our sense of Jewish unity, and more fundamentally, our understanding of what it really means be Jewish. Kudos to Rabbi Goldstein for his tremendous work

(10)
Stanley Tee,
October 20, 2014 12:58 PM

It's already a miracle

The growth of the Shabbat Project is truly astounding. In JUST ONE YEAR, it's become worldwide. I see the most unlikely people here (Toronto) eagerly looking forward to it. So, to Gayle, who worries that it might be a one-off, I say "I don't think so". If it can grow so big, so fast, I honestly believe it's going to keep growing. La shana habaah? Anything's possible!

(9)
Rachel,
October 19, 2014 11:52 PM

not so easy for the disabled

I am shomeret shabbat. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend shul as often as I would like because the walk is often too hard for me.So while you are singing Lecha Dodi, please give a thought for people like me who would love to be there too, but are unable to attend.

(8)
Esther,
October 19, 2014 10:41 PM

Shabbat Shalom

To answer you Ben Jacobs, some say that one person can do one great act and Moschiach can come and some say if we all keep Shabbat Moschiach can come. Many things are said and all true. One thing is for sure that if Moschiach does not come after this Shabbat Project it's definitely a few steps closer!

Ben Jacobs,
October 20, 2014 5:58 PM

Shabbat Shalom

Great answer, Esther. Thank you.

(7)
Gayle,
October 19, 2014 7:37 PM

Possible game changer

The South African Chief Rabbi seems to have found that golden mean - an initiative that that is both inclusive and also uncompromisingly and unadulteratedly in step with Torah principles. I think it will be fascinating to see what happens next. Of course, this could just be a once-off; something everyone will forget about the next day. But maybe not.

Anonymous,
October 24, 2014 4:32 AM

Your Great and in our minds

Keep up your spirits Hashem hears you where ever you are.

Anonymous,
October 24, 2014 4:34 AM

Unity

G-D Love UNITY when all the Jews on this globe will unite, trust me that leave an impact that will make everyone happy.

(6)
Ben Jacobs,
October 19, 2014 6:01 PM

The Shabbat Project

I was taught that if all the Jews across the world kept Shabbat, at the same time,the Moschiach would finally come. Does this still apply, anybody?

Malka,
October 24, 2014 4:58 AM

Yes!!!

(5)
Anonymous,
October 19, 2014 5:38 PM

This is so important. Times are getting shall I say worrisome.

(4)
Danny W,
October 19, 2014 5:31 PM

Quite extraordinary

The scale of this Shabbat Project is staggering. One million people! I've got relatives in Miami who are Reform and are as enthusiastic about it as any Orthodox person. They say most of their community is doing it. And that there are many other communities involved. I've got friends in Israel who say the billboards are everywhere, and that it's mainly secular Israelis who are getting behind it. I don't think anyone - not even Goldstein - imagined the response would be this enthusiastic and wide-ranging. Kol HaKavod. A genuinely uplifting development for Am Yisrael (which is something that seems to so rare these days).

(3)
David Campbell,
October 19, 2014 5:12 PM

Happy Sabbath!

Terrific idea and what the World needs and more. Rest, reflect, food and fellowship with God and our neighbour. Happy Sabbath from Vancouver, BC Canada.

(2)
Isaac Albert,
October 19, 2014 4:18 PM

Shabbat Project at Walford Road Synagogue London

Walford Road Synagogue, Shaare Mazal Tov is celebrating Shabbat Project 2014 on 24 October at 5pm. Shabbat candle lighting followed by Minch, Maariv and Shabbat Kiddush and Shabbat Meal. All for free.

(1)
Shelly,
October 19, 2014 4:14 PM

Keeping It Together

I am so very excited and proud as I am planning to participate in the Shabbos Project. Shabbos is not foreign to me, yet I have never truly observed the Sabbath 100%. This upcoming Shabbos will be the first time for me doing so. Thank you to those who initiated this wonderful project. I believe I will be (and feel) connected to my fellow Jews throughout the world (AWESOME) who will also be observing the Holy day of Shabbos. In advance, I would like to wish everyone out there a "Shabbat Shalom" and a "Good Shabbos".